![]() ![]() He shuns the plugged-in onomatopoeia-feedback loops, distortion-skronk, alternate tunings-that so many post-Miles Davis guitarists customarily deploy in their narratives. He eschews the postbop harmonic extensions that inspire the preponderance of Millennial, Gen-X, and Boomer jazzfolk. ![]() He uses a restored 1953 Gibson GA-50 amp. His tonal personality is unique, not only for the abundant imagination and prodigious execution with which he tells his stories, but also for the aesthetic focus that they signify. In point of fact, Grasso, who recorded the tracks in 20, generated every note, chord, and voicing on his signature Trenier guitar, unmediated by post-production overdubbing or sonic manipulation. A less frequent but equally palpable trompe l’oreille was the sensation that Grasso’s nimble fingers had prestidigitatiously transformed his guitar strings into 88 piano keys, all the better to apply his comprehensive, creative refraction of the language of Art Tatum and Bud Powell: the long arpeggiated runs, the harmonic extensions, the disjunctive comping, the complex rhythmic shapes, the impeccable pocket, the poetic sensibility. Frequently, it seemed that a pair of virtuoso guitarists were in synchronous dialogue. ![]() As I absorbed Pasquale Grasso’s performances seriatim on the Sony Masterworks digital EP releases Solo Standards, Solo Ballads, Solo Monk, Solo Bud Powell, and Solo Bird, two aural illusions emerged. ![]()
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